Originally Posted by
2Labs
I rent a LOT from our local private airport Enterprise location - reservations go through my National account - and it's quite common for this office to "get the rental started" the night before I am scheduled to pickup the car. But in all cases, even though the rental contract may start the night before, the "rental start period" is always what is noted on my reservation or when I actually pickup. I rent here very often and have built a great relationship, so it's never been a problem for me. I rent one way to and from this location 2-3 times a month - so I take whatever they don't want anymore to dropoff at JFK/LGA/HPN/BDL and then come back with something nice for them. I ask what they want me to return with when I pickup and try to bring back what they are looking for. I try to find low mileage, newer cars. Sometimes they need a large vehicle - last month I brought a brand new Luxury Ford Expedition from JFK for them that had a $170 upgrade fee, which they refunded for me
Like you noted, a quick call to the cust service line, or even checking with the agent when you pickup, can resolve this
There are two things at play: they draw up the contract and that is the "rental time" but then there is a second time called the "charged time" which stamps at the point at which they assign a vehicle to your contract. This is quite common for small locations with limited staff that hand keys out at the counter (no "exit gate") to draw up contracts in advance but the "charge time" should not actually start until they attach the vehicle to your contract. It is definitely worth making sure you leave the location with a contract that clearly shows your "charge time" which should appear right below the "rental time" once the vehicle has been assigned to you.